As many of you already know, Boogie will come bundled with a microphone for use in – what else – its singing mode. The singing mode is more or less the same as SingStar in that you’re scored based on your vocal tone and timing to a song. The microphone itself is wired and connects to the USB ports at the back of the Wii and has a “Vocal Assist” function which allows you to increase or decrease how much of your own voice you can hear over the song – something we’re sure will come in handy for people who live in apartment blocks. However, what Boogie does differently from other music titles on the market is its dance mode.
He could possibly be training to be a Ninja - either that or he's just come home from the pub.
Firstly, instead of the traditional dance mat, Boogie utilises the Wii remote and Nunchuck controller so that players can make their onscreen character perform a variety of dance routines. The control scheme has seen several different forms since the game was first announced but what appears to be the final version is that the Nunchuck’s analogue stick will be used to move your character into the foreground and background of the stage while waggling the Wii remote up, down, left or right will make your character perform a corresponding dance move. Additionally, the A button can be pressed at any time to change your dance style.
As you dance to each song, you’ll be awarded points based on your timing to the beat. However, if you perform the same moves over and over again, the points will slowly decrease, which encourages you to utilise a range of different styles and dance steps. Doing this, in effect, not only rewards you with more points but also quickly fills up a special meter which, once full, is activated by using the B button and allocates for dramatic dance manoeuvres such as back flips and even break dancing. For those that aren’t completely in tune with the beat, a rhythm bar is displayed and prompts you by flashing green like an audio equaliser. However, whether you follow the bar or not is entirely up to you as Boogie won’t penalise you too much and is fairly forgiving in this respect.
Saturday Night Fever rings a bell.
Multiplayer support for two players will include both competitive and cooperative play. Competitive play is fairly obvious - essentially you’ll have a dance-off or sing-off against each other with the option of playing head to head or by passing around the controllers/microphone. Cooperative play mixes things up a bit and will be beneficial particularly for those who only have access to one microphone. Essentially, one person will sing while the other controls the dancing. It’s also been mentioned that a couple of mini-games/challenges will be thrown into the package. However, details are sketchy at this stage which suggests they may not make the final cut.
Aside from the said gameplay modes, EA have confirmed that there will be a music video creator that lets you record your vocal performance and dance moves (separately if you so desire) and edit them by changing camera angles and adding special effects and filters. Surprisingly, it’s also been reported that there’s a pseudo-3D option where you wear those red and blue 3D glasses and the image appears to be coming out of the screen. Once you’ve made your masterpiece, you’ll be able to save it to the Wii’s internal flash memory for later viewing. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to send your videos to other Wii owners via the Wi-Fi Connection Service due to their large file sizes. Also on the editing bandwagon is the ability to fully customise the looks of your character including skin colour, clothing and accessories.
Someone at EA must be a fan of Naruto. Just look at the similarities.
The game’s track listing includes cover versions of several popular (or once popular) songs which include the timeless U Can’t Touch This from M.C. Hammer and the horrid – at least in our point of view anyway - Oops I did it Again from Britney Spears. Overall, there will be an expected 37 tracks which embrace several different eras in the music industry.
Based on what’s been revealed so far, Boogie is showing a lot of potential to be a fun and, dare we say it, addictive game. That being said though, its simplicity may prove a tad distasteful for gamers who are huge fans of the popular SingStar and various dance mat games. Still, for the time being, Boogie will be the only music game available on Wii giving it a distinct advantage upon its release in late August.
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